The Greatest Minor League Baseball Blog of All Time

Ballpark Frank Talk

I have “only” visited 77 stadiums over the past four seasons (perhaps a bit more, actually, as some may have been blocked from memory), and of those 77 my Top 10 was as follows:

Durham, Everett, Reading, Daytona, Quad Cities, Brooklyn, Arkansas, Pensacola, Vancouver, and Tulsa. (And, for the record, the five that I had the hardest time leaving off the list were Fort Wayne, Memphis, Vermont, Burlington Iowa, and Lehigh Valley. Oh, and Williamsport! See how hard this is?)

But this is all just one man’s opinion, and I happen to be that man. One of my main objectives in writing the article was to start a conversation and I am happy to report that, for once in my life, I succeeded. It’s easy to see why people responded — ballparks are a subject that Minor League fans are passionate about, and everyone has their own opinions regarding which are their favorite are and why. (And then there are the teams themselves, who passionately advocate for the superiority of their ballpark and react with wounded pride whenever others do not agree.)

All of this is to say — I got a lot of feedback. Some 22 comments were left on the story itself, and dozens more expressed their opinion through email, Facebook and, especially, Twitter. What follows is a sampling thereof and, when applicable, my response.

MiLB.com Comments:

I’ve been to 108 of them. I agree with your set, but Centennial Field in Burlington VT is on my list, as is Coca Cola Park in Allentown PA. Other great ones worth mentioning: AutoZone Park in Memphis TN, Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona PA. (Michael Nolan)

—

Over on stadiumjourney.com, we ranked Parkview Field, home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps as the best minor league experience in 2012. You can check out the full review HERE. (Jason Bartel)

—

Great calls on Durham, Pensacola, and Brooklyn. You downplay Pensacola’s architecture, but it’s sneaky-good – spot-on seating bowl pitch and sightlines, and a wide open concourse for the SRO crowd. Also, Pensacola has some of the best food I’ve had at a minor league park. (Scott Jennings)

I definitely enjoyed the food at Pensacola when I was there. Sea Dog, anyone? (Obviously this is not gluten-free and, obviously, no more Sea Dogs are in my future. Tis better to have loved and lost.)

—

[Harrisburg’s] Metro Bank Park – the one on the island?! Nothing like it. Come back for another visit, Ben! (Randy Whitaker, who may be a bit biased given that he is the GM of the Harrisburg Senators.)

—

Real shame not to include Richmond County Ballpark on Staten Island. I dislike Staten Island as much as the next person, but with views of Downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty from the stands, it might the best stadium view in all of sports. (Commenter)

“Commenter” soon received an impolite reply: You must have supersonic eyesight if you can notice the Statue of Liberty from that ballpark when all I see is dirty water. Your ballpark’s a joke! (TVSBX)

My two cents — I enjoy going to games in Staten Island, and the view of the Manhattan skyline is great, but beyond that there isn’t quite enough going for it to elevate into a Top 10 experience.

—

Select Twitter Feedback

Who’s hungry?

@bensbiz zephyr field with all of the New Orleans food. Po Boys, jambalaya, etc. It's 5 o clock all day every day.

Joe’s email is, in many ways, more instructive and worthwhile than my original article. He writes, in part:

Although few people now inquire about my tour in ’11 unless they’ve sat through one of my presentations, the first two questions almost always have been–“Did you ever forget the words?” and “What was your favorite ballpark?

The former is an easy reply: “No.” The latter prompts different looks: “In what respects?” I retort. “Architecture, siting, history, interesting game, art, food, fans, promotions, generosity, staff, humor, mascots?” “Huh,” they grunt as they look at me dazedly.

Still, I do have faves–although I still trying to cull my list and cut it down to 10

Here’s a start:

Historical:

Williamsport, with its original, propped, crooked wall behind 3rd.

Pulaski, with its original WPA entry and benchless piers.

Daytona also makes my list for being the field for Robinson’s initial spring training game, and I did enjoy the modest breeze of Savannah’s overhead fans in the grandstands.

But Burlington, VT, with its low-slung ramps, doesn’t make the cut.

Architecture:

Columbus, Ft. Wayne, Frisco, and Billings edge out Louisville and Lehigh Valley and Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Durham, where the concourses are too narrow for crowded games.

Art:

Albuquerque wins, but the best piece is in Rochester. Lansing‘s participation in a city-wide art festival also deserves mention.

Site:

For natural panorama: Salem (VA) can’t be beat, unless the Big Sky at Helena or the skyscape above the mountains at (now defunct?) Yakima are also taken into account. Even the sunken bowl on the prairie in Midland, TX deserves mention.

For nearby framing: little can beat the curving rails of the roller coaster mimicking Altoona‘s curve, while the arched span beyond centerfield in Corpus Christi edges out Mississippi River bridge at Quad Cities and the impressive golden halo of the state Capitol’s dome beyond the outfield at Des Moines.

And there are playful features like the pork humor at Lehigh Valley, the painting of Cobb’s career average 366 at that distance in left field at Augusta, or the “nuts free” area in Rochester (which, of course, refers to dietary restrictions rather than to crazy fans).

Children’s areas often featured various inflated jump rooms, but the rapelling rock in Ft. Wayne was attractive, as were the sandbox areas in Wisconsin, where I hope that they checked for renegade rattlers before allowing the children to dig beyond centerfield, and Des Moines’ fountains that enticed kids of many ages.

Oops. I’ve already favored more than 10. I’ll never write for Letterman!

I can understand how hard this is, Ben. I tried doing it a couple of years ago, but each year it seems like I visit one or two that could make the list and bump another one out. Here’s my top five: Savannah, West Michigan, Portland(ME), Indianapolis, and Great Lakes. The only ballpark on your list I’ve been to is Quad Cities, and it was amazing, too. Truth is, I’ve never really been to a ballpark that I didn’t like! They were all unique and had some great baseball fans! I’m be visiting all the team in NC in May, and I’m sure there will be some great stadiums there.
-Mikehttp://minoringinbaseball.com/

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.